Ridge Global’s Chris Furlow Speaks to Credit Union Executives in Belfast

BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND (20 July 2016) – Accountability for cybersecurity cannot simply be delegated to technical staff. That was a message from Ridge Global president Chris Furlow as he addressed delegates attending the 2016 World Council of Credit Unions conference this week in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Hosted this year by the Irish League of Credit Unions, more than 1,600 credit union CEOs, board members, and executives from more than 50 countries attended the event held from July 17 – 20.

Furlow made two presentations, the first of which focused on the quickly evolving leadership challenges that cyber risk poses for credit union C-Suite and board leaders. He emphasized that oversight by C-Suite and board members is more important today than ever before, requiring executives to become more educated on cyber risk in order to better communicate and prioritize cyber security resources with their IT security management.

“Most of your operations, communications, and member services today are enabled by cyber networks. With your entire enterprise on the line, a culture of cybersecurity and resilience must be a priority and led from the top, not simply delegated.”

The second presentation focused on addressing the human elements of cybersecurity, which research shows is a significant source of data breaches.

“You cannot eliminate all cyber risk, but cyber training for employees—particularly in the highly targeted financial services industry—is a practical way to help your personnel improve cyber hygiene, recognize threats and layer defenses to help reduce the risk.”

Ridge Global advises executive and board leaders around the world on implementing proactive strategies for mitigating cyber risk and building more resilient organizations. For more information, visit: www.ridgeglobal.com.